Business and finance came together to back the blue economy at the UN Ocean Conference last week – but with the US conspicuously absent, their commitments may be in vain.
Momentum grows among companies and investors to back a sustainable “blue economy” – while governments turn to the private sector to mobilise capital towards the most underfunded SDG at international gathering in Nice last week.
Award-winning economist Mariana Mazzucato says blended finance is not the promised ‘silver bullet’ in scathing UN policy briefing which argues it fails to mobilise enough private investment to meet the SDGs, while financing needs grow.
Proposals to develop social enterprises and other similar organisations seek to remove barriers to finance and markets and support informal economy organisations to build the “inclusive economy of Africa in the modern era”.
Access to funding for diverse entrepreneurs is not a "pipeline problem", we hear at this week's Impact Shakers Summit in Brussels. Plus: new backers for Suzanne Biegel's legacy fund and why a UN resolution on the social economy matters.
UN recognition of the social economy builds on progress in many countries, from Senegal to South Korea. The next step is widespread implementation, say Victorine Anquediche Ndeye, Marlène Schiappa, Chantal Line Carpentier, Frédéric Bailly and Francois Bonnici.
Company directors’ reliance on international accounting standards means sustainability issues are currently reported separately, if at all. But there are steps they can take to better meet their legal responsibilities, says our columnist.